Cosleeping with your baby is a debate that seems to have no firm answers. Some experts, such as Dr. Sears of drsears.com, a well-known pediatrician, claims that cosleeping with newborns and young children is a perfectly logical thing to do, boosting comfort and feelings of safety in your child while allowing you a good night sleep.

Other authorities like Dr. Phil, a leading psychologist and talk-show host, believe that cosleeping causes regressive behavior and is detrimental to a healthy adult relationship between parents. In the end, cosleeping with your baby remains a personnel decision. We will take a look at the pros and cons of cosleeping with a baby and let you be the judge of which sleep arrangement is best for your family.

Cosleeping in Other Cultures

To be able to make an objective decision on cosleeping arrangements, it's a good idea to look at customary practices of different cultures around the world. According to LabourofLove.org, in the years prior to 1700, cosleeping was the common sleep arrangement within families all over the world. After that period, western civilizations began moving away from cosleeping towards individual and independent sleep arrangements. Many cultures around the world still continue to sleep with their infants in the same bed. In 67 percent of the cultures around the world, children sleep with adults.

Cons of Cosleeping Arrangements

Those against cosleeping mention the following negative aspects of the arrangement:

- Rolling over onto the baby

- Entrapment between the wall and mattress or headboard

- Suffocation risks

- Possible overheating of the infant

- Co-dependency issues

- Interference with sexual activity and intimacy between adults

Safety Issues

Safety of the child is a huge concern and should always be addressed. Many parents worry about rolling over onto their infant and hurting them, the child being trapped in some manner, falling out of bed or suffocating. One option is to provide the child with its own sleeping environment that is safe and secure, fully focused on the baby's safety requirements. Parents who opt not to co-sleep provide a crib, firm mattress, and minimal bedding for their child.

Another option for those parents who would like to choose a cosleeping arrangement, is to provide a sleeping environment for the family that is adapted to consider the safety risks and provides a secure sleeping area for the baby. Moving the bed to a position where the baby can't fall out, clamping a co-sleeper bed to the frame, or attaching a guardrail to the mattress are possibilities to address the concerns of falling out.

Co-dependency Problems

According to LabourofLove.org those against cosleeping arrangements also believe that cosleeping can create co-dependency issues. The theory is that by establishing a practice where one person is dependant on another individual, the situation creates a need in the person for the other individual and the person not being able to function independently from the individual. In short, the idea is that if your baby learns to sleep with one or both parents, the baby will never be able to sleep alone.

At this point, consider how many individuals in the world you know that at teen or adult age, still need to sleep with their parents.

If co-dependency had such long-term effects, those who co-slept with their parents would never be able to move into an independent sleep environment. Remaining objective and logical about arguments against cosleeping is important.

However, the theory of co-dependency does have merit. Children who co-sleep do tend to stay in the family bed well into their toddler years. Co-sleepers will also require a transition period to adapt to sleeping alone and the change takes time, patience, and effort.

Intimacy and Sexual Relations

As far as intimacy, cosleeping does interfere with adult relations causing intimacy to take a hit. Many parents prefer considering a sleeping arrangement that suits both themselves and the baby's needs before worrying about when and where intimate relationships will take place. Many parents of infants and young babies put sexual activity lower on the list of priorities than parents of toddlers. However, creativity regarding sexual relationships between the parents usually solves the issue.

Benefits of Cosleeping Arrangements

Those in favor of cosleeping mention the following beneficial aspects of the arrangement:

- Ease in breastfeeding

- Baby sleeps longer

- More sleep for parents

- Decreased separation anxiety

- Increased bonding

- Increased skin-to-skin contact

- Synchronized arousal and waking

Why Some Parents Opt for Cosleeping

Many parents struggle with how much sleep their baby receives. Most want to encourage sleep for good development, but their infant sleeps less in an independent environment. Plenty of mothers that opt for cosleeping simply need sleep so badly that they tried every solution until finding one that worked. Other parents want to promote independent sleep arrangements but find their baby becomes anxious, cries at being alone, or wakes often throughout the night.

Breastfeeding Bonus

Breastfeeding mothers find that cosleeping makes the task very easy and simple to accomplish during sleep hours – after all, Dad can't run for a bottle so that Mom can take a break from feeding. Breastfeeding while cosleeping is an arrangement that simply involves the mother positioning the infant without either mother or baby having to get up and waken to feed. The baby feeds and slips easily back to sleep, being less disturbed.

Bonding and Secure Attachments

Cosleeping promoters at LabourofLove.com state that, in child development, babies who have a secure attachment to their mother or parents (meaning that if the child feels secure his or her needs will be met by a responsive parent) tend to be less anxious, more exploratory, and learn faster than other children who have insecure attachment issues. Cosleeping allows parents to respond to the child's needs almost immediately and with little fuss, reducing separation anxiety and increasing a secure attachment. Bonding between baby and parents is heightened from increased contact.

Sleep Harmony

AskDrSears.com also show that sleep patterns of families who co-sleep are synchronized, meaning that mothers and babies that sleep together tend to wake in the same period or be in the same sleep stage. This can be considered beneficial so the mother isn't awakened at disruptive moments in her sleep stages, thus receiving better rest and be more alert to her baby's needs during waking hours.

What Sleep Arrangement Should You Choose?

The final decision about which sleep arrangement, independent sleep environments or cosleeping environments, remains that of the parents alone.

One of the biggest problems with the cosleeping versus independent sleeping debates is that many new parents (and experienced ones with more than one child) often look to authorities and experts for advice and opinions on what to do and how to best raise their child.

Providing love, care, and attention is the best way to pave good development in your infant. In the end, doing what works for your family to achieve the best night's rest with minimal negative emotions and accommodations that suit everyone's needs is the ultimate goal. There is no right or wrong answer, as children of healthy development have grown in both types of sleep arrangements.

What is important, as parents, is to choose the best arrangement that meets your needs and that of your baby's needs. If a practice you've chosen isn't producing the desired results, change it. If you are feeling resentful about a situation for any reason, change it. You are not a failure or a bad parent if you opt for cosleeping to get some rest or if you decide independent sleep environments are best. You won't be frowned upon for changing your mind and switching practices either. The best decision about your family's sleep arrangements is the one that leaves everyone feeling comfortable.

Are You Smart About Sleep?

Do you wake up feeling rested on most days of the week, or are you just not a morning person? Getting a good night's sleep affects every aspect of your day, including your mood and your ability to be productive. And if that doesn't get your attention, listen up: Your sleep habits can even affect the number on the scale. Find out if you're smart about sleep, or if you need to be schooled by the Sandman with this quiz.